League City’s city council voted to relegate the Chester L. Davis Sportsplex on I-45 to a less prime spot on the other side of the interstate so that a whole bunch of buildings — collectively dubbed Epicenter League City — can take its highway-adjacent place and hopefully, “make League City a dynamic cultural center and national destination,” according to the official press release. (The map above shows the plans with east facing up.) Freeway exposure for it all is limited by the pair of car dealerships — Mac Haik Toyota and Clear Lake Nissan — situated right up on the northbound feeder road. But behind them lies the 106-acre development’s urban nucleus, a shop-lined central green space bookended by some kind of water park and an opposing “Live/Work Village,” with an outdoor entertainment complex and convention center to the immediate north. Beyond that core, things give way to the parking lot, retail, and office hodgepodge that’s more of a familiar sight.
While a private developer has signed up to fund the Epicenter’s construction, League City officials appear to have their work cut out for them on the new, larger sportsplex — which they want to look something like this:
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It’s planned in an undeveloped spot back behind the Bay View subdivision on the other side of I-45 (and adjacent to a planned segment of the Grand Pkwy.’s southern expansion). If the conceptual map ends up a faithful representation of what’s to come, say goodbye to the infield dirt that typically distinguishes softball from baseball fields.
You can see the difference in this aerial of the current sportsplex:
Maps: Epicenter League City (new Epicenter complex); League City (new sportsplex). Photo: League City Girls Softball Association
No Ice hockey?
I kind of admire their ambition.
As someone who lives in League City, this is quite a project. When we say “Sportsplex”, we aren’t kidding.